1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to remote controls, apparatuses, and systems, and methods of using the same, and more particularly to remote controls, apparatuses, and systems, any one or more of which can produce a non-visible signal to identify a control before activating a function associated with the control.
2. Description of the Related Art
Remote controls can provide audible signals, whether in the form of words or tones, to notify a user after a key has been depressed. An example of a remote control with such a function is a remote control made by Accenda of Port Washington, N.Y. The Accenda remote control is designed for use with a TV, VCR, cable box, or satellite. Similar to many other remote controls, the Accenda remote control announces the key after the key has been depressed and the function associated with the key has been activated. Announcing a key after a function has been activated can be undesired. For example, a VCR tape may be over ten years old and include images of a deceased friend or relative. If the key for the record function was pressed instead of the key for the play function, the valuable VCR tape may be recorded over with undesired content. The user may need to quickly find the stop key to prevent further recording. If the user is blind, visually impaired, or has normal vision but is in a dark room, locating the correct key may be difficult. Therefore, providing an “after-the-fact” announcement to notify the user of the function that was activated may provide feedback too late to the user. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved remote control and method of using a remote control.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.